To Have and Have Not
by purpleu
Summary: Possessing all that you've ever wanted is wonderful; losing it can be heartbreaking. House has always questioned if happiness is worth the flip side of the coin... the deep lows that come with great highs. As he can do no more than sit by and watch his job, his love, and his future be placed in danger, House must decide if all of this is something he wants to have or have not.
1. Chapter 1

"To Have and Have Not"

Chapter One – "Having a Good Time"

By: purpleu

The sound was familiar, yet out of place to House; it was the sound of wheels turning as a cart rolled down the halls of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. However, this was dulled, more muffled than would usually be heard from a utility cart; it was as if it was being pushed across a cushioned surface, like carpeting. Not willing to yet open his eyes from the restful sleep he had been enjoying, House reached down with his right hand and felt for his leg; no, no operation done yet. Then came the voices… one he did not recognize, the other one belonged to Lydia. Despite his desire to continue in his semi-conscious state, House's curiosity got the better of him; he opened his eyes just enough to see his girlfriend talking to a man who obviously was the one who wheeled the cart into the room. He smiled as he remembered where he was; he and Lydia were staying in the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. A weekend in the city, plus tickets to the Allen Toussaint concert at Birdland had been part of her Christmas present to him. And unlike most things, House was really enjoying the experience; he was… dare he think it? happy at the moment. He closed his eyes again as Lydia and the man passed by the end of the bed. House heard her let the guy out, and then lock the door behind him. Pausing for a moment as he waited to see what she did next, he rolled some ideas around quickly in his head. He smirked as the perfect thought came to him as he glanced at the serving cart. His girlfriend had gone into the bathroom, probably to change out of the sweats she threw on to answer the door; last thing he knew, she had been laying naked beside him. He decided now was the time to make his move, and had just put his plan into action as Lydia emerged from the bathroom.

"Good morning, Fraulein; I believe you ordered room service?" House was standing next to the cart; he had removed the lid from one of the dishes and was holding it in front of his groin. "Did you want a steak?" he asked, picking up the other silver cover from the tray to reveal steak and eggs. "Or did you want a hunk of something else?" House moved the original lid he was holding to show he was naked. Lydia couldn't even speak, she was laughing so hard as she walked over to her boyfriend. He completely surprised her; she had no idea he was awake.

"How is it you can make me blush and yet completely entice me all at the same time?" she asked as she approached House. She took the two lids he held and placed them back on the food. "Let's not have the food get cold while I say a proper 'good morning' to you."

"Yeah, I stay hot a lot longer than the food does," House said wrapping his arms around Lydia.

"Definitely," Lydia said giving him a kiss. "I was hoping to have the pleasure of waking you up, but you were too fast for me." House gave her a look.

"You've never complained about my speed in the bedroom before."

"And I'm not about to now," Lydia replied, smiling at the fake hurt look House wore.

"You must be really hungry," House noted. "Not only did you not sleep in by much, but steak and eggs? Sounds like something I'd order."

"That _is_ something that _I_ ordered for you," Lydia said. "I didn't want to wake you up to ask, so I winged it. You have the steak and eggs. I have a cheese and mushroom omelet with a side of bacon. We have a basket of assorted baked goods, a small carafe of apple juice and an extra-large carafe of coffee. I don't know why, but I woke up around seven-thirty, absolutely starving. I tried to ignore it, but finally I gave up and ordered for us. I didn't think you'd mind."

"The only thing I mind is being awake and out of bed before ten when this is supposed to be a leisurely weekend," House said running his hands over her back. She had changed out of the sweats like he thought, and back into the pink silky robe he gave her for Christmas. It also came with a slip-style, short nightgown, but House had long ago made sure that was taken off.

"I'll tell you what; let me eat something to get my energy back and I'll make it up to you. Now, go put on your PJ pants I packed so we can eat," Lydia said with a smile. She began to pour glasses of juice and cups of coffee for them; House waited until she filled a cup, then took the coffee right out of her hands.

"This is the only way I'm going to function," he said raising the cup for a moment before taking a sip. "I don't even know why you brought the PJ pants with us… I had no intention of wearing them at any point this weekend."

"I thought they'd keep you warm while we ate. I knew we'd dine in at some point," said Lydia as she placed the plates with their food on the table in the room along with forks, knives, spoons and napkins. She set the basket of baked goods out, and they were ready for a delicious-looking spread. House was feeling a slight chill, so he dug out the PJ pants and a t-shirt. He looked over at Lydia and saw that she was starting to shiver a little.

"Here… time to give in to the surroundings," House said handing her back the nightgown he had removed from her last night. "That's thin enough that I don't think it'll do much good… I'll see about rubbing a couple of sticks together." He found the thermostat and brought it up from sixty-five to sixty-eight. "Let's see if that's enough to make us comfortable. We probably should have boosted it last night, but I think we were a little pre-occupied with other things," he said with a wicked smile. Lydia returned his look as she wrapped her arms around herself. He realized that she was still going to be cold, so he pulled the blanket off of the bed. "These chairs are obnoxiously wide; they're big enough that we can sit next to each other while we eat and play sharesies. Have a seat." House gestured for Lydia sit down; he draped the blanket over her, then took a seat and covered himself. The two of them reached out and slid their food closer.

"This is nice," Lydia said sipping her juice. "Too bad we can't have a weekend breakfast like this more often."

"Thing One and Thing Two would have something to say about it," House said shaking his head as he took his pills out from his pants pocket. "We'd wind up with them in our laps. Not very conducive to enjoying a meal." House washed down his medicine in one gulp and picked up the utensils to start in on his steak. "This looks fantastic," he noted.

"I hope it tastes as good as it looks. My doneness instruction to the kitchen was 'Moo.'" Lydia watched House's face as he placed the meat in his mouth; his smile said everything.

"They followed your instructions to a T," House said. "This is almost worth getting up early for. Of course, if this was breakfast in bed… "

"If this was breakfast in bed, I'd still be starving," Lydia replied taking a bite of her omelet. "Mmm… delicious! I wonder what sort of pastries they sent… " House looked at his girlfriend in surprise; she was really diving into the food.

"Can I take it that one needs to eat an hour after Thai food, just like they do an hour after Chinese? You're acting like you didn't eat last night… and we had drinks and munchies at the club besides dinner," House said with a laugh. Lydia shook her head as she swallowed some coffee.

"I think I must have overdone it at the holidays. My stomach is used to more snacking and larger quantities of food; now it doesn't know how to deal with it. I've gained about two or three pounds, so it's nothing I can't lose fairly easily, but I don't ever remember having this much of an appetite."

"What did you do… put on extra coats of mascara or something? Because I have definitely not noticed any weight gain on you," House said with a smirk. "Last night or any other time recently." Lydia gave her boyfriend a look.

"Last night you were so over the moon about what happened at Birdland, I could have gained a hundred pounds, and you wouldn't have noticed."

"That, I would have noticed," House said pointing his fork at Lydia. She vigorously shook her head back and forth. "Alright… maybe not. But, do you blame me? First you get me tickets to see Allen Toussaint at Birdland, of all places… the Mecca of Jazz and Blues. Then, I find out we're going backstage for a meet and greet with the guy and all the other musicians he's got with him. And because of that thing, I had people fawning over me all night." House had indicated his piano cane which was leaning against the dresser.

"Oh, like you really minded," Lydia said dismissively. "When Allen Toussaint himself not only asks to see your cane, but inquires where you got it, because 'Mac'… aka Dr. John… would love one just like it, I thought you were going to flip out."

"I did flip out. Toussaint held an actual conversation with me for something like fifteen, twenty minutes while all these other people were waiting to meet him."

"That's because you very quickly indicated you had knowledge of the genre," Lydia noted. "You weren't star-struck; you were respectful and had a true understanding of the music he loves. He appreciated that." House nodded.

"I guess so; I know I enjoyed the conversation with him. Never expected to access to Toussaint like that. I've heard about these after-parties, but I didn't bother to find out about gaining entrance to them."

"I got used to visiting backstage because of Annie and her performances with the Philharmonic. There wasn't a meeting with the artists every time, but when there was, and I had attended the concert, I would go backstage. Then after we settled in New Jersey, we would catch shows in the city and we decided to register for VIP memberships at Birdland. Several of Annie's fellow musicians played there on their nights off, as well as B.B. King's House of Blues. Her membership lapsed, of course, when she became ill and went to Mayfield, but I kept mine going. I needed a break from taking care of everything once in a while, and I loved the music, so it worked out nicely. Then when I got the e-mail notice about upcoming concerts, and saw that Toussaint was coming, I hatched my plan for the tickets and the weekend for us." House shook his head.

"You went overboard on a holiday I don't even celebrate. Well, I hadn't celebrated in years until you and the munchkins showed up." He took a drink of his coffee. "The concert, and the mini-vacation, a record player that not only handles 45s and 33 1/3 recordings, but 78s as well, which is hard to find. And it also connects with my computer so I can download the vinyl I own and burn a CD of them all. As an added bonus, you get me a bunch of original pressings from Muddy Waters and other artists that aren't even on vinyl… they're on 78s of shellac and ground slate."

"I had no idea what the old time records were made of until the man in the vintage record shop told me," Lydia said taking another bite of her omelet. "I never would have guessed. I just know he warned me very strongly about handling them carefully because they were so fragile."

"And expensive considering which records you got me," House noted. "Then clothes, books… you know you're crazy," he said giving her a kiss. Lydia looked surprised.

"Me? What about you? You gave me this beautiful nightgown and robe, plus several other outfits I couldn't open in front of the children," she said with a smile. "You replaced my old mixer with a state of the art model, gave me all new bakeware, cookie sheets, mixing bowls… everything I need to open my own bakery if I wanted."

"Those items were sort of a gift to myself," pointed out House. "I get to eat all the goodies you're going to make with them." Lydia laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"True, but then there was the motorcycle helmet I've been wanting so I can finally go riding with you. And you went over to the medical college and got me three of the books I'll use during my first year studies… if everything works out OK. I'll be ahead of the game on everyone else."

"Mmm… yeah… not like you aren't ahead of everyone else already," said House with a touch of pride in his voice. Lydia looked downward and shook her head; House's faith in her abilities always made her feel so good.

"Of course, then there was this." Lydia fingered the necklace that she was wearing. It was an infinity symbol in brushed gold, set with amethysts around the loops and an amethyst heart in the center. "You had already given me that beautiful heart necklace right after we got together when I moved back to New Jersey. I didn't need this, too." House reached over and entwined his fingers with hers on the necklace; he was pleased with what he selected for her… it was beautiful.

"No, you didn't need it," House admitted. "But I heard you mention that you like the infinity necklaces, and after what I put you through when we separated for those few days back in November, I wanted to give you something to let you know that I intend on sticking around." House looked away. "Sorry it's not something more… permanent."

"Greg, I've told you… only when and if both us feel that things are right, that it's something we both really want to do. In the meantime, I know how difficult it had been for you to open up and love someone; so the fact that I feel as loved, and cherished and desired as you make me feel… " Lydia reached up and cupped her boyfriend's face in her hands. "It's the best feeling in the world. I just hope you never forget how much I love you, and how happy I am that you were willing to trust me, and let me love you." Lydia leaned over and gave House a gentle kiss, that slowly multiplied in intensity and volume.

"Tell you what," House said breaking away from the kiss. "If I ever show any signs of forgetting, you have my full permission to remind me, using any and all means necessary."

"Deal," Lydia replied. House gave his head a slight shake; he was amazed at how lucky he was about a lot of things. Right now, the steak sitting in front of him was one of them.

"I'm going to finish this cow so I'll have the energy I need for whatever later on brings. I'd suggest you do the same with your omelet and any other weight busting goodies you may want," he said indicating the basket of baked goods.

"Sounds delicious to me," Lydia said picking up her fork. House cut another bite of steak; he held out the morsel to Lydia.

"Trade you for a piece of bacon." She let him place the steak in her mouth, and as she savored it, she did the same with some bacon to him.

"We really are spoiling ourselves. Staying in a fancy hotel, going out to the Thai restaurant, the show, and now this. And the best part for me is how much you seem to be enjoying everything," Lydia said putting her arm around her boyfriend and starting to rub his shoulders. "You're more relaxed and smiling than I've seen you in a while." House settled back, and put his arm around her as well.

"Look, it's not that I don't enjoy being with you and the kids. I told you when we talked a while ago, you three are part of a package I always wanted. I couldn't have imagined or wished for… brainier, less annoying kids than the rug rats. It's just nice to have some alone time with you, no interruptions or fears of them knocking on the door. Think of it as time for me to properly and thoroughly molest you." Lydia started laughing.

"Molestation time, eh? That's a new way of describing intimacy, even for you. And what about me? Don't I get to have my way with you?"

"Any time you want, Fraulein. It's like you've said before," House replied leaning over to give Lydia a kiss. "Sometimes you feel like making love, and sometimes, you just want to fool around. Of course, the best is when you get to hang around long enough to do both. Like now." The two started to once again kiss repeatedly, with House letting his hand roam over Lydia's bare legs. She slowly, a bit reluctantly, pulled back away from him.

"Come on; you said we should finish our food so we have enough energy to fool around or make love or anything else we may want to do; maybe even venture out of the hotel."

"Fine; but this is only a temporary time-out until we finish eating," House pointed out. "After this, you're all mine."

"No argument from me on that," Lydia said taking another bite of her omelet. "Do you want to use the whirlpool in the tub again? It seemed to have done a lot of good for your leg; it was tolerable to you after we did all that walking yesterday."

"Any time I get to see you wet and naked makes me feel better," House said lecherously. "But, yeah… that might be a good idea before we tackle anything else." He looked very thoughtful as he picked up his coffee. "I'm glad that we did this now. In a few months my only means of transportation will be a wheelchair." Lydia looked at House sympathetically. She had noticed that as New Year's had approached, he had been making cynical remarks about the upcoming operation on his leg more frequently. It was nearly four and a half months away, but obviously very much on his mind. House didn't know it, but Lydia had some things that were weighing on her, too. While they had this quiet time together, she thought it best to talk.

"I noticed lately that you're commenting more and more about your surgery," she began. "Are you having concerns about the surgery itself, or the recovery, or… what? What's on your mind, Hon?" Lydia had taken a quick drink of her juice, then moved closer to House. She could tell by the way he kept looking out the window at the bustling activity of Midtown Manhattan, that mobility… and his soon to be lack of it… was preying on his mind.

"There was a time I would never think twice about walking from one end of Manhattan to the other before this happened," he said slowly starting to rub his leg. "Before I met Stacy, I used to wander into the city all the time just to hit the jazz clubs. No big social interactions, no flocking with groups of people… just me wandering wherever I wanted to and listening to damn good music."

"Why didn't you bring Stacy here to some of the clubs? Just the two of you, I mean. I'm sure she would have enjoyed it; for your sake, even if she didn't care for the style of music herself," Lydia said as she lightly ran her hand up and down his arm. House looked at her and smirked.

"That was the problem… she'd enjoy it. My mission was to be a difficult boyfriend and taking her for jaunts into the city, didn't fit the bill. Plus, things would spill over, and start to become a convention; 'let's ask this one or that one to meet us,' ad nauseam. I didn't want to spend the evening playing musical dictionary, filling in all the blanks about the music. Since most people don't know blues in depth the way I do, my name would become Noah Webster for the night which would not be fun. Now… now I have to think about preparing myself just to walk out of the front door of the hotel." House looked away from the window in disgust. He just stared across the room, not even able to bring himself to look at Lydia.

"Greg, after everything is said and done, your leg won't be perfect; you're still going to have some pain, although far less than the hell you've been through, and there might still be a slight limp. Maybe there'll be times when you'll need a cane just to feel secure, but you'll pick and choose when those times will be. Things will be better." Lydia reached up and began to stroke the back of his head and neck. "You have the best doctors who are going to be working on you, the best physical therapist… and a nurse/caregiver who comes with fringe benefits. What more could you ask for? I'll even go to a costume shop and get one of those sexy nurse outfits if you want." The last comment drew a smile from House, but it also struck a nerve, too.

"I know I'll have good people working on me," he said looking downward. "But the last thing I want is for the recovery process to become so long and arduous that it changes the nature of our relationship. And I don't mean just physically, although obviously nookie is going to be difficult for a good long while without a crane and a lot of creativity." House sighed and looked at Lydia. "Things with us have been… good. Really good. I was afraid that after we had talked and gotten back together, it was going to take a while before I felt like I wasn't being punished for what I pulled. You never did that; no woman wronged bull. I don't know why I thought things would go down that way; I should've known better. You're not that kind of woman." Lydia took House's hand.

"Apology accepted," she said. House looked at her curiously.

"I didn't say I was sorry," he noted.

"No… but in your own way, you did." House smiled; boy did Lydia know him. He took a deep breath.

"Look, Fraulein…I'm going to become unbearable to live with during this; I've mentioned it more than once, but I want to make sure you really are going in eyes wide-open. I know how I've been over the years with the pain I've dealt with…I know what kind of person it made me into. The pain with the repair work is going to get worse before it gets better. The things that could be the most damaging and hurtful to us will be what I say to you and attitudes I throw at you, while I try to live with the fact that you're not going to be my girlfriend during my recuperation; you'll be it in name only." House leaned back and closed his eyes. "The nursing aspect of things won't be so amusing when they become reality. You'll have to deal with changing a diaper, or catheter line, or emptying a bed pan for me. You'll have to handle not one, but two wound sites to change dressings and possibly drainage tubes on. My mind is not going to be in a good place when I'm trying to deal with watching you do all of those things for me." House shook his head. "I can't sit here and promise you that I won't try and blame you and the rest of the world for forcing me into making the decision to operate, even though I know damn well I'm doing this because I want to… I need to." He opened his eyes and looked at his girlfriend again. "I'm just afraid when this is over, I may be walking better than ever… and you'll be so disgusted by me that you'll just want to walk away." Lydia took her hand away from House; she placed it on her hip.

"Well thanks a lot for branding me a quitter before you even give me a chance to prove myself," she said with false indignation. "Hon, I know you have a hard time being optimistic about things connected with the operation and the aftermath, but there is one thing you have to get through your head and have no doubts about; you are stuck with me… before, during and afterward. I have gone over in my head every distasteful thing I may have to do to take care of you; every nasty, angry, bitter comment you may throw around at me or anyone else in our circle. I'm not blind to the issues and I'm not naïve. And I'll bet you anything you want that I can come up with more horrific things than you can." She held out her right hand with her pinky extended, challenging him to take her up on her wager. House managed a grateful smile as he gathered Lydia up in his arms and gave her an appreciative hug.

"Sorry if I ruined the four-star dining experience you arranged with my downer of a discussion," he said as he pulled back and brushed some hair away from her eyes. "My leg has been sending out signals that I'd better hurry up and get this thing done before I literally crash and burn one of these days. I've been feeling more pain lately and more weakness. I asked Tom about upping my meds, even though I already knew the answer; I'm at the maximum dosage for now and there's nothing new that would be worth introducing at this point. We talked about a couple of new things he could try with therapy… maybe see me through until the operation… so Monday we're going to start working on that. But it's been bouncing around in my brain an inordinate amount of the time lately… I needed to let you know what was going on." Lydia reached up and ran her hand down her boyfriend's cheek.

"I'm glad you did. If I'm not mistaken, one of the things we talked about was not holding back on having a conversation when you've got something bothering you," she said. "Which brings me to something I wanted to talk to you about." House was just about to turn back to his plate to finish his last few bites of food, when Lydia spoke. His appetite quickly faded.

"What did or didn't I do or say?" he asked cautiously. Lydia shook her head and laughed.

"You really have to stop doing that," she said.

"Doing what?"

"Assuming that you did something wrong just because I say I want to talk to you." House winced.

"Since I'm still dealing with the beginning chapters of all this serious-stage relationship stuff, I figured it'd be best if I erred on the side of me screwing up. Rather than assume I'm any good at it." Lydia reached for the coffee carafe.

"You're doing fantastic; believe me, you'd know it if you weren't. More coffee?" House nodded. Lydia topped off both of their cups.

"Can you give me a hint about the topic, so I can at least hazard guess?"

"It's about the kids, and us and protecting them," Lydia said setting down the coffee. "Why don't you work on what's left of your food while I start?" House slowly nodded, now believing that he had had some idea of where she was going with the conversation. "You told me that when your mother passed away, you very quickly had your will re-written to include your inheritance in the numbers and to make sure that the children and I were taken care of. You also left bequests to Thomas and Annie and James' little one." House munched on his steak as he nodded. "And I've done the same with mine. I long ago took out my ex, but I made arrangements for money and real property to be held in trust for the children. I wanted to leave you a bequest, but you vetoed the idea."

"Because I don't need the money," House pointed out. "I'd rather it go where it can do the most good… like your two and the Wilson bambino." Lydia nodded.

"The silly thing… the foolish thing… in all of this, is that we have never discussed custody of the children." House almost choked when Lydia spoke. He quickly swallowed his food so the conversation could move forward.

"Fraulein… do me a favor and clarify what you mean by that."

"What I mean is, who would take custody of them if something were to happen to me." House's jaw dropped. Lydia… dying? He dealt with death on a regular basis, all the time, and managed to handle his mother's thanks to Lydia. But, something happening to Lydia? That thought brought him down to earth… hard.

"That's not a subject I've given much thought to," House began. "One… because I can't imagine you not being here… and two… because I can't imagine you not being here."

"I don't want to think about it either, believe me," Lydia said, taking House's hand. "But when you have kids, it's something you have to deal with. The thing is, I've been thinking about this ever since we started making plans for our trip to Germany… "

"Fraulein… there's nothing to think about. To me, there's only one way to handle something like this. Whether something happens to you or to the both of us… Songbird and Wilson should take custody of them. The end." Lydia was a little taken back.

"You wouldn't want to stay a part of their lives if I was gone?" House rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say that. Right now, I'm having a hard enough time dealing with the thought of you not being around." House looked down and away. "Why are we discussing this? It's not part of the nice, jovial agenda we'd been discussing. It's coming out of nowhere."

"So did the discussion about your leg." Lydia bit her lip and silently berated herself as soon as she said it. Her defenses always kicked in to high gear when talking about her kids. "Greg, I'm sorry. You know how I get when I'm worried about the kids. It's coming out of nowhere because we've been avoiding the subject," Lydia pointed out. "The reason I'm anxious to get this issue dealt with is something that one of the women who work in my department told me about. Her sister, like me, had her ex-husband relinquish his parental rights when they divorced. It was his choice, he decided to walk away. The sister then became ill with cancer, and died while the children were still young. Marie, the woman who works for me, thought she would get custody since she was the nearest blood relative; she was their aunt. She didn't get them. Her sister had a decent amount of assets that she left to her children, and their father, the ex-husband, came swooping back in like a vulture. He went to court and regained custody of his children. He disappeared with them for about three years, letting Marie have no contact with them. Until one day, he showed up at her door, having spent all of the money their mother left them, and dumped them on Marie. It's not that she wasn't thrilled to have them back, but the expense of lawyers to formally gain custody, and to raise three additional children? She's sixty-five and has no plans to retire because she simply can't afford to; she used her retirement money for them." House wasn't interested so much in Marie's whole sad story as he was one particular aspect of it.

"So if something happened to you, your ex-dirtbag could take the kids back? And then throw them away like yesterday's garbage after he steals the money you left them?" Lydia slowly nodded.

"I did some research online. That's about the way it would go down; and because it involves two states, Arizona and New Jersey, it could possibly drag on in courts for years. Assuming that someone other than my ex tries to fight for custody, of course. And there is always the danger that a judge could place them in foster care while things are in dispute." House was silent; he picked up his knife and began to tap the handle on the table, getting stronger and louder by the second.

"That bastard is not going to get his hands on Ben and Elise," he said firmly as he tossed the utensil back onto his plate. "Obviously the first step is a lawyer… "

"No, I'd like the first step to be the four of us… you, me Annie, and James to sit down and talk. We've mentioned this before and never carried through on it. It's time. I need to know what the three of you are thinking in terms of how to handle this… "

"What about what the other three are thinking?" House asked. Lydia looked at him curiously. "You and Frick and Frack. Seems to me what the three of you want should be considered the most."

"I don't want the children worrying about their 'ex-father', as Ben puts it, coming back into their lives. Greg, believe me, I am hoping and praying this is all for nothing. But it wouldn't be fair to leave everyone in a tizzy, wondering what to do if something did happen. And more than anything, it's to protect the kids from my ex." House nodded; he was in full agreement with that way of thinking.

"Just keep in mind that if you tried to have me become their Mary Poppins, and if your ex should make a play for them, any lawyer hired by him would obviously do some digging into my background. No judge in his right mind would give me custody." Lydia caught a little edge of sadness in House's voice and knew it was best to let the topic rest for now. Nothing would be decided without Annie and Wilson, no matter how much they talked about it, and she wanted the two of them to enjoy the rest of the weekend. She was very happy the subject had been broached.

"Annie and James are coming over for dinner on Saturday night. She's bringing her famous white clam sauce and a salad, and I said we'd do the garlic bread and bacon wrapped shrimp. We can relax and have a nice dinner, then talk after the kids go to bed. You and I can sit down one night this week and make a list of the things that we need to talk about, so we don't miss anything."

"Sounds reasonable to me," House said. "My lawyer does wills, trusts and estates, but I don't think he touches family law which is what this would probably fall under. I've got another guy I use for any malpractice cases. I'm sure between the two of them, they can give us a recommendation."

"Good," Lydia replied. She saw that House was still feeling down. "Greg, I'm sorry that I brought this up now, but it's been really bothering me after Marie told me why she's not retiring and the whole story behind it. And just like you had to get talking about your leg out of your system, I had to talk about this."

"I understand why you brought it up," House said stretching his legs. "Don't like to think about the subject, just like I don't like to consider what could happen with my leg. But you're right about not discussing this around the munchkins; they've been traumatized enough in their lives and have their own nightmares. They don't need to share ours." Wanting to boost his mood, Lydia snuggled in closer to House.

"Don't waste any time worrying about these things. Someone once said ninety percent of the things we worry about are never going to happen; the other ten percent you can't do a damn thing about anyway. I am completely confident that when I'm old and gray, you will still be warm for my form, and chasing after me all over the place on your new and improved leg," she said giving him a kiss.

"And if I have to, I'll use my wheelchair to hunt you down and corner you," House said, finally breaking into a smile. Lydia nestled her head into the crease of his neck and began to place little kisses heading up to his ear. "Hey, I have two whole bites of moo to finish. Why don't you go set up the tub and the whirlpool? I'll join you in a minute."

"I like the sound of that," Lydia whispered in House's ear. She moved the blanket off of her, and stood from the chair. As she passed the bed, she removed the robe and nightgown, laid them on the bed, and walked the rest of the way to the bathroom door naked. House watched her, smiling at her every move.

"You know I'm now no longer interested in the steak," he said.

"But the tub's not ready yet," Lydia said innocently.

"Yeah, but I am," House said with a grin. "And I'm coming in there to do a closer inspection for this weight you supposedly gained."

"Hmm… yes, you'll have to come take a closer look," his girlfriend replied. House shook his head.

"Time for a tactile procedure," he said wiggling his fingers. Lydia disappeared inside of the bathroom, and he heard the sound of the water flowing into the tub, quickly followed by the jets of the whirlpool. He took a last drink of coffee before moving over to the bed to remove the PJ pants and t-shirt. As much as he was looking forward to what came next and anything else they chose to do for the day, House couldn't get the thoughts of their conversations out of his head; Lydia permanently gone, him permanently in a wheelchair. He tried his best to shake them off as he rose and made his way to the soothing tub and the beautiful woman waiting in it for him…

House and Lydia didn't leave the hotel until around noon, but had a great day planned for themselves. They took Duke Ellington's advice and took the A train up to 125th Street in Harlem. There, besides the well-known Apollo Theater, was an assortment of other smaller venues, many with historical markers on them. Best of all were the former speakeasies, a staple of the Prohibition Era. While alcohol was served in hidden places, sometimes called "hooch rooms", out front, some of the best jazz and blues musicians of the day played for club goers. Some locations were museums, but some were serving food and drinks while live music was played by talent, young and old alike. They then headed back to the hotel to give House's leg a rest, and at night, they went down to Greenwich Village. After a delicious Italian dinner at Villa Mosconi, they wandered around the different streets, finding music, a few comedy clubs, and eclectic shops. Some places looked no bigger than a closet, but many had long lines in front of them, obviously very popular spots. House and Lydia decided to bypass any of the clubs and instead returned to the Marriott for a romantic evening. As Lydia snuggled into House's arms as they fell asleep later that night, she looked up at his smiling face. It was quite apparent that the entire weekend was the best present Lydia could have given House.

It was a good thing that they had given themselves Sunday to come home and relax, because when they went to work on Monday, things started to get interesting. Virtually all department heads were called into meetings, where they were informed that they would have to submit revised budgets with significant cuts. If the revised budgets didn't have enough trimmed by the department heads, they were put on notice that the administration would do it for them. House was not the only one unhappy with the decree, but more troublesome to him was the fact that this all seemed to be the handiwork of one man. Shades of Vogler raced through his head at first, until Wilson gave him news that was even more disconcerting. Charles Durbin, a local businessman and community activist who sat on the board, was the one creating the trouble. This wasn't about donating money, or power within the hospital per se; Durbin had his sights set on larger ambitions and was going to use his "cleaning up" of problems at PPTH to help him launch a political campaign. Neither Wilson nor Foreman knew exactly where loyalties lay among the board members, but he was able get them agree to the first step of trimming budgets. Who knows what else was yet to come? House had gotten out of his meeting and need to vent. Not ready to discuss the current situation with his team yet, he headed to Lydia's office, hoping to find a sympathetic ear. Instead, he nearly ran into her as he made the turn down the hall to her office. She was clearly upset.

"Had your chop-chop meeting, I see," House said leaning against the wall. "Were you able to hold back, or did use your own special form of diplomacy to tell them to shove it?" Lydia didn't answer, but nodded toward the stairwell and had House follow her to the place where they could talk.

"Those bastards!" she exclaimed. "They're going after my workers who are near retirement age. They're going to offer them a package of some kind… God only knows how generous it will be or not… and if they don't take it, they'll be laid off!"

"Sounds like a good set-up for an age discrimination lawsuit," House noted grimly. Lydia started to pace in the small area of the stairway landing.

Yes, but I can also see how it would play out to the hospital's advantage. These lawsuits don't move quickly. By the time things get filed, and goes forward through the courts, these women will have been without income for so long, who knows what kind of shape they'll be in? I know there are two ladies in my area that would probably welcome the offer. I swear they work just so they don't have to sit at home with their retired husbands," Lydia said with a laugh. "But the other three? They don't come to work just because they're tired of watching the Food Network. Especially Marie." House frowned for a moment.

"She's the one taking care of her sister's kids?" Lydia put her head down and nodded.

"And on top of all of this, I had to sit down and talk to her right before my meeting." Lydia sighed and leaned against the wall. "She's one my data entry clerks who process the coding from the charts into the system for billing. Marie's made a lot of mistakes lately, more than the amount that's typical for anyone doing this kind of work. She told me she just received a diagnosis of Parkinson's. It's in the very early stages, but she has had some tremors in her hands and fingers." Shaking her head as she moved away from the wall to pace again, Lydia continued. "She was so apologetic for the mistakes she's been making, and said she'll work through her lunch hours to make corrections. Then she begged me not to fire her." If there was any fault that House could find with Lydia, it was that she had a hard time handling it when good people simply are doing a bad job. She hated to be the bad guy, unless it was deserved. Clearly, in Marie's case, going an extra mile to help was going to be the tactic Lydia would use.

"Any idea of how you're going to handle this?" he asked.

"I had been looking at re-assigning some positions based on work flow patterns that I've noticed. Some workers are overloaded, some can be far more leisurely in their approach. There might be a chance I can assign her to something less stressful for her."

"Just make sure you keep an eye on your own ass in all of this," House said. "They have you swing the axe and then put you out on the street."

"There's already an issue with me," Lydia said. This was now beginning to sound personal and House didn't like it. But he kept a cool exterior to counter Lydia's anger at the situation.

"What was said? They have a problem with us both working here? They think we're sneaking into linen closets at lunch?"

"No, nothing of the sort, thank goodness. They're questioning why I need a manager of billing if I review all the work in the long run? I tried to explain that Betty, the billing manager, oversees the day- to-day work; I look at weekly and monthly reports and discuss things from there. It seems the bigwigs around here think I should do all of it, all by myself. It's not anything definite, but the timing for this… right when I would be trying to do more work from home and get ready to hopefully go back to school… sucks!" House looked down at the floor and bounced his cane up and down a few times. He could feel Lydia's pain over the situation; he was going to be dealing with one himself.

"You have my complete and total sympathy," House began. "You also have me lurking in the background for help. If they wind up pushing you to do too much, quit. You know you could find another job at the drop of a hat, and if you really wanted, not work at all while you do the Adult Studies program. You might even be able to finish up faster than you anticipated." House looked away from Lydia. "And if it works out that neither one of us are working, at least we can afford it."

"What do you mean if neither one of us are working?" Lydia quickly said, clearly in shock. "What did they say to you?"

"Asked me about my intentions toward my job while I'm recovering from my leg surgery." Lydia did a double take.

"You haven't told anyone other than our group of friends and that new vascular surgeon about your operation. Who shot their mouth off?"

"My suspicion is a Black Rat," House said, obviously referring to Foreman. "Although I wouldn't put it past Lucy Loose Lips either." Wilson was always a good guess for these things. "They wanted to know if I was going to take a leave of absence, or take unused vacation time or any other number of options. And they wanted to know if I wanted to step down, who would I recommend to take my place… or if I was staying, they suggested I start thinking about who to let go." Lydia shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that no one was keeping an eye on things; that the finances got that bad around here before anyone noticed."

"And now this wanna-be politico comes along and is going to fix everything," House smirked as he pictured Charles Durbin standing in front of him just a short while ago.

"But at what cost is he going to 'fix' it?" Lydia asked. House shook his head.

"All I know is I'm glad we had this past weekend to relax and take it easy," House said as he looked at his girlfriend. "Because at this rate, who knows when we'll get a break?" Suddenly, House's beeper went off.

"Next disaster, in the queue," Lydia said sarcastically.

"It's the ER. What the hell do they want?" House called over to the emergency department, secretly hoping it was a wrong number. He put the phone on speaker.

"Emergency," a female voice said when the phone was answered.

"This is Dr. House; I'm returning a page from a PA Connor." In a second, a young male voice came on the line.

"Hi, Dr. House. We've got a patient being brought in 911. He has your name and cell number on him as an emergency contact. He was found over in the local Dukin' Donuts, slurring his words and fairly unresponsive. EMT said he did get out the name of the hospital and your name." House felt very uncomfortable from the beginning of the conversation; that feeling now worsened.

"What's his name?"

"Uh… his driver's license says Thomas Bell… and right now, he's coming in as a stroke patient.


	2. Chapter 2

"To Have and Have Not"

Chapter Two – "Not Having Any Fun"

By: purpleu

"Get down to the ER; Bell's coming in with a possible stroke," House said grimly as he and Lydia hurried through the maze of hallways that led to the emergency room. He had called Chase, not even bothering to say that the entire team should come down; he knew they would follow automatically. Everyone arrived at the ER desk at the same time; the nurse informed them that the ETA on the ambulance was four minutes.

"What happened?" Chase asked.

"Don't know the full story yet. He was in a Dunkin' Donuts… he began slurring his words, but got out my name and the name of the hospital before he finally became unresponsive," House said. "Need to find the PA that called me… "

"Dr. House? I'm PA Connor… I called you," a young man standing behind House said. "Mr. Bell appears to be doing relatively well, vitals are quite stable. The ambulance is reporting his pulse as 65, respiration as 20, BP 107/62 and O2 Sats at 97 percent." House frowned.

"More than pretty decent for an old guy who's just stroked out," he noted. "Was there drooping of the face or weakness on one side?"

"They didn't report any specific symptoms like that; they simply said he was acting consistent with a stroke."

"Which leaves an open door for all sorts of things to come wandering in asking to be considered as a cause for the symptoms," House noted.

"I don't even see why he was getting anything to eat," Lydia said. "He was supposed to be meeting Annie for lunch in half an hour; she and James had a mini-wedding album made for him as a thank you for performing their ceremony. They were meeting so she could give it to him." House looked toward the bay doors where the ambulance would be pulling in; a police officer had come through them surveying the ER like he was looking for someone.

"I know this is a usual question for a cop, but did you just come from a donut shop?" House asked as he walked over to the man. The ID tag he wore said Davis, and he managed a smile at House's inquiry.

"I take it you're Dr. House," the policeman said. "The gentleman that we found was in bad shape, but he made sure we knew to bring him to you. He was badly slurring his words and was leaning over to his left side, although he managed to take out his wallet and this card." The officer handed House something the size of a business card. It read, "In case of an emergency, I am to be taken to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, and Dr. Gregory House is to be notified at (917) 555-0611. No allergies to either food or medicines." "All of that info is great, but he should be wearing it on a medic alert band, not digging for it in his wallet," Officer Davis remarked.

"We've tried to get him to wear one because he has high blood pressure and is on medication for it," Lydia said. "But he says other than his wedding band, he's not a jewelry person."

"No. what he said was, he didn't want to look like Mr. T," House noted. Officer Davis shook his head as he held up the backpack he had in his hand. "Mr. Bell's wallet and keys are in there and what looks to be several medical files; his coat's with the ambulance crew. He had parked in the handicapped spot at the store; that's where his car is now."

"Where the hell is the ambulance?" Chase asked. "Connor, what's the ETA on the ambulance bringing in Reverend Bell?" Connor looked confused by Chase's use of Bell's proper name, but he got on the radio to the EMTs.

"Another three minutes; they got caught up in the road construction coming off of Route Three." Lydia saw that the cop was still holding Bell's backpack, and took it from him. He surrendered it hesitantly.

"Are you a family member of Mr. Bell's?" he asked.

"Reverend Bell," Lydia corrected. "And he's Dr. House's father." She handed the pack to House, so he could review the files it contained.

"And your relation to Dr. House is… " he asked Lydia. Davis was uncomfortable as the bag was passed from one person to another.

"Who? Us? We have relations all the time; every chance we get in fact," House snarked. He was not happy with the delay in getting Bell into the ER and under his care.

"I need someone to sign for the bag," Davis said. House grabbed the clipboard the cop was holding and made a giant "X" across the entire page. The policeman scowled at him, but then seemed satisfied when Lydia signed the document. As they waited, House saw that in and among the medical files that Bell had from Virginia were results from a current exam. Other than his blood pressure being just slightly elevated, the labs that were run on him were good. Pulling more papers out, House saw the name of the facility the tests came from, Crestwood Advanced Care. He frowned as he returned the items to the backpack.

"Why didn't Bell pull over and call 911?" House asked. "Why go to a donut shop if you're getting ready to meet someone for lunch… " Lydia shook her head, trying to think of answers to House's questions. The team was silent, too. Suddenly, they saw "The Look" come into House's eyes; the always occurring epiphany.

"What was on the table in front of him when you found him?" House asked the officer.

"Some juice and some donuts," Davis replied.

"Juice? Thomas never drinks juice except when he takes his vitamins at breakfast," Lydia said. "And as I said before, he was about to go have an early lunch."

"What kind of donuts were they?" House asked the cop with intensity. His demeanor threw the officer off.

"What kind… what difference does it make?"

"Just answer his question," Lydia advised. She knew how her boyfriend could be when he felt he was dealing with stupidity; obviously House had a reason for asking the question.

"He had two bottles of apple juice; one was empty, but I think most of it spilled on him. And there were two Boston Cream donuts, each with a bite taken out."

"Something's wrong with that," Lydia quickly said. "He always gets coffee with his donuts, and he gets the plain, Old-Fashion type so that he can dunk them."

"He got the sweetest donuts he could think of. He was trying to get as much sugar into himself as he could," House noted. "Get on the horn… tell the EMTs to do a finger stick on Bell," he called out to Connor.

"They… they should be here in a minute," the PA replied.

"And they'll be bringing in a corpse rather than a patient if we don't get that reading," House snapped. Connor hurried to do as House instructed.

"Start a line on him as soon as he's out of the ambulance; have two 1cc syringes with dextrose standing by, along with a bag of D5W," House ordered his team. He took a deep breath. "Have an intubation kit and defibrillator ready in case we need it." The team scattered to retrieve the supplies House requested.

"Dr. House… the EMTs can't get a reading on the patient. I don't know if he's that hypoglycemic or if they're having trouble with the machine," Connor reported.

"Where's a kit from here?" Lydia asked. She would grab it and have it ready to get a reading on Bell as soon as he came through the doors.

"Who's got the Accu-Check?" Connor called out over the din of activity in the ER.

"You've only got one?" questioned Chase as he passed by the PA while coming back from the supply area with the IV equipment.

"Afraid so. We've requested additional, but haven't gotten them yet." House quickly surveyed the room; he saw an aide headed to a patient's bedside with the machine in her hands. Whether she didn't hear the request for the machine or ignored it, House didn't care. He strode over to the stretcher where the aide stood and snapped the lid closed on the testing unit.

"Hey!" she protested. "I've got to do a finger stick on this patient and see how high his sugar is." House leaned over to the startled middle-aged man who occupied the stretcher.

"Breathe on me." The man looked flustered. "Come on… Listerine only paid for a fifteen second commercial… breathe!" The man did as House ordered him to. "He's easily over five-hundred, and has been for a while." House started to walk away with the unit.

"How… how do you know that?" asked the aide, not sure what to make of this man who was stealing her precious glucose monitor.

"I graduated from Hogwarts," House yelled over his shoulder as he headed back to meet the now arriving ambulance. "Slytheryn."

"It's OK," a PA said to the aide. "It's obviously badly needed over there. We'll get the unit back and get a real reading in a little bit." He leaned over, took a whiff of the patient's breath, and frowned. "Go see if you can borrow the one from Pediatric ER." He shook his head in amazement as he watched House disappear to the other side of the room. Arriving at the bay doors just as Bell was coming out of the ambulance, he quickly set the machine down and got it ready.

"Bed five!" a nurse called out.

"He's making a pit stop," Housed said placing a hand on the right side of the stretcher. House's team moved in and did a rapid search for a vein to start an IV. They found one on the back of Bell's left hand while House did the finger stick test. He was not happy with the reading the machine gave him… not in the least.

"We need the line in… now!" insisted House. Lydia stepped in and removed the glucose monitor from the scene before it hit the floor.

"Almost… almost…. Got it!" called out Chase. "Back flow… ready!" House had come around to stand next to Chase; as soon as the line was ready, he practically pushed Chase out of the way. He grabbed the access portal on the line, and taking one of the syringes Taub was holding, House pushed one cc of dextrose in; he then did the same with the other syringe.

"Both of them?" Thirteen questioned. House nodded as he looked down at his father's face.

"His glucose was twenty-three. He didn't have much room left to play with. Get the D5W hung up."

"Oh my God!" Lydia exclaimed. "He must have felt there was a problem and knew how to handle it… just not in time to avoid this. But… he's neither a diabetic nor a hypoglycemic."

"Seems he's something right now. He and Mom had a friend down in Virginia who was a type 1 diabetic. The guy was either not well-educated in his care or just didn't give a damn. They were always scraping him up off the floor or taking him to the ER for another admission. I met him when I was working with Bell on my mother's estate; the signs of improper care were obvious." He saw that Thomas was starting to move his head slightly. "Get him down to slot number five. I'll be right there." House realized that the PA whose patient he had taken the glucose meter from was standing nearby. "How'd I do?" The PA smiled.

"Five-seventy-five," he responded. "Nice call." House nodded.

"When a patient reeks of acetone, DKA is obvious. Either that or he swallowed a bottle of nail polish remover." House headed over to cubicle five; as he looked down at Bell, he could see he was trying to open his eyes.

"Hey… you can stop praying now… you're still among the living." Bell's eyes fluttered open at the sound of House's voice.

"Do you know where you are?" Chase asked.

"Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital," Thomas replied weakly. "And you're Dr. Robert Chase." His response drew a smile from everyone gathered around the stretcher.

"What's your name?" House asked. Thomas turned to him.

"From you, I would prefer Dad, but Thomas, Reverend Bell, and hey you, work just fine for me." House feigned looking annoyed, but he was genuinely relieved that Bell was talking.

"He seems to be lucid," Taub said with a laugh. Lydia was smiling, but she was also concerned about what prompted the situation.

"Thomas, I know you said you were going to find an internist near where you live for minor medical issues," she began. "I don't blame you since Greg and PPTH are an hour away. Have you been to see him yet?"

"Yes, I saw him Friday."

"Did he change any medications on you? Give you anything new?" Thirteen asked.

"No. He said my blood pressure was acceptable on my current medication, so there was no need to change it. He just gave me a script to renew my LisinopriI which I've been on for a couple of years now. I'm shocked by all of this… I've never had any problems before."

"And you didn't have any problems when I looked at these same records back in October," House said holding up Bell's medical records. "And the tests they ran last week were all good. Of course, we're going to repeat them here to validate them. Who's the doctor you saw?"

"Dr. William Stewart oversees everything at the facility, but I didn't actually meet him; I saw a PA and a nurse practitioner." House rolled his eyes as the team and Lydia shook their heads.

"Was this one of those immediate care centers that you go to with a sore throat when your own doctor is too busy to see you?" Chase asked.

"No, this was a satellite office of a geriatric practice. Several of the people who live in my development have used them. As you get older, you have little patience to sit around a doctor's office or a hospital office just to get a prescription renewed. I knew… I mean I thought… that I was healthy enough to just have this facility be someplace I could go to with a simple problem like a sinus infection or something. I just wanted a basic primary care physician." Bell looked around at House and the team. "You all take care of complicated, intricate cases; it's not just about the distance… I didn't want to waste your time."

"Rather waste my time with simplistic medical problems than another funeral," House said giving Bell a look. "Besides, until we figure out what happened to you, you've entered the twilight zone of weird medical cases."

"What lab did they send you to?" Chase inquired. House had passed around Thomas' file and he had noticed that the lab reports had only the name of the facility, Crestwood Advanced Care, on them.

"The lab was within the building that I went to; right in the same office, in fact. They also have an x-ray unit there."

"Sounds like a miniature version of a hospital," Taub noted.

"Are you sure this place is legitimate? Because it's beginning to sound like something that could be run out of the back of a tie-dyed VW bus," House said.

"A lot of these specialty clinics have been popping up," Thirteen observed. "One will administer treatment for arthritic joints, another spinal compression, some are pediatric, some geriatric… all with the purpose of having people avoid long waiting times in traditional offices. I read an article about this growing trend a few weeks ago. The problem is, while the staff is legitimately licensed, you're not seeing an actual doctor."

"I guess those facilities might have their place," Lydia noted. "It's just rather odd that after Thomas' first visit to one, he winds up here with a rock bottom glucose level. Even though it does seem they didn't make any changes to prompt this." Thirteen nodded in agreement.

"I tried to do the right thing and get sugar into me… I guess it just wasn't enough or fast enough," Bell said sadly.

"You had the right idea," House said. "But with a twenty-three blood glucose, you could have given Dunkin' a new and unplanned drive-thru." Bell's eyes opened wide.

"Twenty-three? Dear God! I could have killed someone!"

"Like yourself. Any lower, and you'd be preaching from the big pulpit in the sky," Lydia said gently rubbing his shoulder. Bell nodded and closed his eyes.

"Hey… what's going on? How's Thomas?" Foreman approached bed five with a concerned look on his face.

"Now that his blood sugar is over the age of consent, he's doing better," said House.

"What? Annie called Wilson and said that Lydia texted it was a stroke."

"That's what we were told at first," Lydia said. "It turns out his blood sugar was only twenty-three."

"What the hell caused that?"

"Haven't figured that out yet," House said as he tapped the handle of his cane against his lips. "Let's start with the usual score sheet… SMA 20, CBC with differential, lipid panel… add in an A1C so we can see what his glucose has been doing for the past few weeks. Get an EKG, chest x-ray… do an EEG to make sure there was no seizure. Pull an abdominal ultrasound with contrast and take a look at his pancreas. And an MRI."

"Insulinoma?" Chase asked. House nodded. Bell looked confused and concerned, but it was the slightly puzzled look on Lydia's face that had House's attention.

"Come on. You know what it is… or at least can figure it out," he chided.

"I'm going to say it's a growth, a tumor on the pancreas. It probably rests on the beta cells which would interfere with the correct amount of insulin being produced," Lydia ventured.

"And despite its name, it's rarely cancerous," said Wilson as he and Annie approached the group. "Why are you exploring that line of thinking? Last I knew it was a stroke. What's going on?" House filled him in on Bell's glucose readings when he came into the ER. "Whoa! That is as close to the danger zone as you'd want to get. So you're looking at an endocrine issue. You know Slick's still licensed to practice if you want his take on anything, especially since that's his area of expertise."

"Already had that thought flash through my mind," acknowledged House. "We'll see if we need him." Annie, who had been just standing by listening, now squirmed her way in past House to get next to Thomas' bedside.

"You know, if you didn't want to have lunch with me, there are easier ways than this to cancel," she said with her hand on her hip.

"I would never break a lunch date with a lady as sweet and lovely as you, my dear. I… I don't know what caused this; I'm upset… and scared." Annie took his hand to try and reassure him. House kept his poker face on, but he wasn't happy hearing that Bell was upset, although he couldn't blame the man. Depending on what test results show, surgery may be necessary; a scary option for a person Bell's age, even if on paper, he seemed healthy.

"Best thing to do right now is get the tests going," Chase said. "Connor just came over, and I told him we'll be handling things with Thomas. Do you want him in ICU or on a regular floor?" House thought for a moment.

"Let's get him to ICU. His sugars are going to have to be checked more frequently that the usual protocol of once every four hours; the staff up there is better able to handle it," he noted.

"House, mind if I play doctor for a minute?" Foreman asked.

"Sure, as long as Thirteen's willing, who am I to stop true lust?" Thirteen merely smiled; Foreman shook his head.

"At some point in the future, I was going to suggest a CT with contrast… just for a baseline look at things. You're going to have an EKG, a chest x-ray, the blood work-up, EEG… hate to say it, but he does have high blood pressure as I remember it. It'd be an idea to do the whole package."

"We can have him come back in for that one. Hypoglycemia and CTs with contrast don't play nicely," House noted. Foreman agreed.

"No… oh… no… " Thomas started to say.

"Thomas… Thomas, are you OK?" Annie was still by the bedside, but hurried out of the way as House and the team moved in. Everyone had been so busy talking, they weren't actually looking at Bell much in the past few minutes. Thomas slowly shook his head.

"I… low… " he managed to get out. House leaned over and increased the drip rate on the D5W.

"Dextrose and the monitor," House barked out.

"Got the dextrose," Foreman said running off. Chase saw the Accu-Check on the counter around the corner and rushed over to grab it.

"Need you to try and stay conscious," House said to Bell as Chase set up the machine. "Come on, keep talking… hit me with your best sermon!" Thirteen saw that Thomas' breathing had become labored. She crossed behind House and got the oxygen mask off the wall. Taking off the nose clip unit that the ambulance had hooked Bell up to, she placed the mask on him.

"I've got a second bag of D5W to piggyback on," Taub called out. Just as Foreman made it back to the stretcher, Chase announced the glucose reading.

"Thirty-one!" House took the dextrose syringes one by one from Foreman; he had brought over five, and House wasn't entirely sure that more wouldn't be needed.

"Keep talking to him! Get him to respond!" House yelled. Lydia moved to the end of the gurney.

"Thomas can you hear me? I want you to nod your head if you can hear me. Or say something if you can." While Bell slightly moved his head, he was verbally unresponsive. Thinking quickly, Lydia knew how to get him to talk. "Thomas, come on… it's time to pray." Lydia began the Our Father, moving closer to the side of the bed as Chase joined her in the prayer; years after leaving his studies at a seminary, and he still knew it. Bell started to join in at the end.

"…now and forever. Amen." The three finished together, but Thomas fought to get his words out.

"What the hell is going on?" Wilson asked House who had stepped away after emptying the dextrose into Bell. "Insulinomas don't form overnight. He would have had some earlier indications."

"Not if it hadn't reached the beta cells yet," said House. "Raise his head up; see if he can drink water." Lydia was nearest the head of the bed and elevated it until Bell was in a comfortable position. Taub had piggybacked on the second D5W while Thirteen got the water.

"Can you hold this, Thomas?" she asked, offering him a cup.

"Yes." He took several small sips, then a regular-sized drink. When House saw Bell handled it, he decided to take it a step further.

"Get him juice; let him take it through a straw so he doesn't choke. Keep it coming as you do the tests and blood draw. Tell dietary that he's on a high carbohydrate diet. Check his glucose every thirty minutes. Call me when you're ready to do the tests." While no one said anything, they all saw House let out a deep breath as he moved away from the stretcher. The team simply nodded. As Chase left to pick up Thomas' paperwork and sign him out of the ER, House turned to leave.

"Greg?" House faced his father; the old man looked like he had aged just since arriving at the ER. "I'm so sorry for all of this bother for you and your team. This is precisely what I was trying to avoid." House began to tap his cane on the floor.

"For now, I'm going with that all-American principle of innocent until proven guilty; I'm guessing you did nothing to bring this on yourself. This is one of those big 'oopses' that the body pulls every so often. It keeps the bunch of us out of trouble and off the streets at night," he said indicating the team. "We'll probe the hell out of you and figure out what this is."

"Just be a good patient and be co-operative with whatever Greg's team tells you to do," Lydia said, coming over and rubbing Bell's cheek with the back of her hand. "You know they'll take good care of you." Thomas nodded.

"Yes, I know they will. They're a talented group of doctors… or they wouldn't be working for Greg. And they're good people, too," Bell said looking around and smiling.

"And what they can't handle, I can," House said twirling his cane. He looked back at Thomas and let his guard down for just a moment. "Behave yourself," he said with a softer tone in his voice.

"I promise not to do anything that you wouldn't," replied Bell with a smirk.

"Damn, we're in trouble," Taub said with a straight face. Everyone chuckled as House glared at them all.

"Just remember who signs your paychecks," he countered to his team.

"For now," Foreman said under his breath. House shot him a look; he didn't have the chance to talk to Chase, Taub and Thirteen yet about the behind the scenes political and financial malarkey that was going on, and he didn't want them to hear it from anyone else.

"See you after you're sufficiently poked and prodded." House said as he turned away.

"Check on you later," Lydia said giving Thomas a kiss.

"I'll have Lydia keep me up-to-date," Annie said waving.

"Be up in a little while," Wilson said with a wave. As they moved away from the gurney and toward the doors back to the hospital, the three looked at each other. House was walking with his head down, his brow knit deep in thought. About half-way back to the lobby, Foreman caught up with them.

"So, how radical are the purse-string holders looking to be?" House asked. He wanted to focus on another puzzle until he had more information to use for Bell's case.

"Well, if it were up to Durbin, he'd knock this place down and put up a parking lot, to paraphrase Joni Mitchell," Wilson said. "His approach seems to be two-fold; that there was too much financial mismanagement for this place to recover, and that these… micro-care centers that are popping up all over can reduce the public's need for us."

"How much support does he have on the board, and how much pressure can he bring? Because to me, this fellow sounds like that guy Vogler who created trouble for everyone a few years back," Lydia noted.

"The difference with Durbin is he's not looking to become a big shot around here," Foreman said. "He's got higher, political ambitions and is trying to paint himself a savior of the common people when it comes to health care issues. He's using the mistakes that have been made around here and at Princeton General to further his cause."

"He's on the board over there, too? Just how far is Elastic Man's reach?" questioned House.

"I don't know that he's on the board at PG, but he's including them in the shameful behavior label since they lost their rating as a level-one trauma center; we've kept it… for now," Wilson noted. "One of his targets is the clinic… and if that gets shut down, our level-one rating is history."

"Makes sense; from what Thomas said, it sounds like these satellite offices are copies of the clinic here, except not under the auspices of any hospital. Has the state medical board weighed in on this new trend?" Lydia asked.

"The good news is that the majority of the state board members aren't all that impressed with them; the bad news is they are more concerned about what's gone wrong here," said Foreman.

"James has mentioned to me that there seems to be a lot of theft… supplies and equipment walking out the door," Annie said. "Over at the college we've experienced the same thing. But it was easy to break up the group that was taking things because face it… a cello or a tuba don't exactly fit in your pocket. Is it possible to get some sort of security or investigation service in? It'd mean spending some extra money up front, but it could be of a great benefit in the long run. I know that's what we did at the college." The group made a turn down a hall that would lead them to the lobby.

"It's something to consider," Foreman said looking at Wilson.

"The holes have to get plugged up somehow," said House who had been very quiet. "Having to play hot potato with the only glucose monitor in a department is just one example of what delays in care may result in. Including fatal mistakes. Who knows what mayhem could result if we lacked in defibrillators or any other necessary equipment around here." Lydia glanced at House and then Wilson; they both knew he was thinking about Bell.

"That's just one of the problems we're dealing with. I hate to ask this at the moment, given what's happening with Thomas… but we could use your help, House," Foreman said with a sigh. House stopped, turned, and grimaced.

"I don't do bureaucracy, nor do I play nice with pencil-pushers. I don't even like to talk to patients, or have you forgotten my usual M.O.?" Foreman managed to laugh.

"House, as long as I live, there is no way I will ever forget you… but not necessarily for the right reasons. Look, you still have a connection with Jeanne Hunter and her boyfriend, correct?" If possible, House frowned even more deeply. The mention of anything to do with Malcom Hunter, the corrupt attorney who tried to ruin his team's and Wilson's careers, never thrilled him. The only exception he held out was for Hunter's son, Tyler. Hunter tried to use his son as a pawn in his battle with House and in the process, ignored the child's true illness. House was able to peg that the boy had the most severe ailment in the Autism Spectrum, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and the boy finally got the proper help. Jeanne Hunter was now Malcom's ex-wife and she and her boyfriend Jeff were both on the Board of Trustees. House e-mailed them occasionally to check on the boy.

"Correct. But only for the purpose of monitoring the kid's status. I send the mother an article if any advances have been made in the kid's disease, but that's few and far between."

"We know how Jeanne and Jeff feel in reference to Durbin and his ambitions," Wilson began. "But if they could give us an idea of how much the board is listening to this… idiot, then we could ignore him and try to make the corrections necessary to keep the hospital going."

"What do you mean… there's a chance that PPTH could close?" Lydia asked incredulously. "That's… absurd! Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is known the world over, as is many if its staff," she said looking at Wilson and House. Foreman dropped his head down.

"Please keep this confidential, but the word came down from the State Medical Board this morning. We've got two years to try and stop the bleeding financially. For now, closing is only an outside possibility. Disappearing equipment and supplies have to be cut down to a minimum, there has to be a hiring freeze with personnel cutbacks made, more donations have to be solicited, and more doctors have to send their patients here. I'm sure Thomas won't have to wait long to get a bed," Foreman noted. "Things never used to be like that around here. We need to do all the things that are required to make this place as self-sufficient as it used to be. And there has to be a continuation of the increase of payments from insurance companies… but the insurance department is one area we are not worried about right now," Foreman said giving Lydia a smile.

"Oh, sure… no pressure," she said rolling her eyes.

"Hmm… two years, huh? Damn, that messes things up," House said as they neared the lobby. "I was so hoping to make my silver anniversary here. I had a party planned with booze, a hot tub, wild sex and everything." Lydia shot him a look, which he noticed. "Did I forget to mention it'd be a one on one private party with you as my only guest?" he asked with a smirk. Before Lydia could answer, a man's voice drifted toward them from the lobby.

"Is that someone… preaching?" Annie asked.

"No, politicking," her husband replied. "You have got to be kidding me." As the five of them entered the lobby, they saw a man standing to the far left side with a small crowd around him. Some were obviously from the media, their cameras clearly seen. Others were merely curiosity seekers.

"The people of this state deserve health care that isn't too big to focus on their needs," the man proclaimed.

"Chuck E. Cheese Durbin?" House inquired.

"Yep… I'm afraid so," Foreman said looking very unhappy at the commotion going on in the hospital lobby.

"Can he just come in here like this… disrupting the place?" asked Annie.

"He's a trustee… you'd be amazed at what they can get away with," Wilson replied.

"I'm not pointing blame directly on the current or the prior administration here," Durbin continued. "There were mistakes made; whether they were made due to poor judgment by Dr. Cuddy and the staff or if their bad judgments were made due to misinformation, I don't know yet."

"Wouldn't be the first time she made a bad call based on bogus information," House muttered under his breath. The people standing with him knew he was referring to the operation on his leg years ago. House looked over his left shoulder, aware that the team had come to join them in the lobby.

"Bell's glucose is up to seventy-five. He's going to room four in ICU," Chase said quietly. "Drinking apple juice while being transported." House nodded.

"What I think should be done is a streamlining of functions around here," Durbin said in response to a question. He looked over to where House and the team were standing. "For instance, there's a Diagnostic Medicine Department here. Now, I know the department does incredible work, and its reputation and that of the doctors who work for the department is impeccable and well-known. But really… isn't it the job of every doctor to diagnose their patients? Isn't that what they're here for in the first place? Why do we need to spend excessive and unnecessary money on a department that duplicates the work the hospital is already doing?"

"Son-of-a bitch! Who the hell… " Chase exclaimed.

"Not the time," House said, never taking his eyes off Durbin.

"I'm not here to make specific proposals; I'm simply letting you know that as a board member, I will be diligent in seeking ways to correct the problems of the past and prevent the problems of the future. And I will bring those solutions to the entire state so that all the citizens of New Jersey will receive proper health care. Thank you." The press conference began to dissipate as Durbin made a hasty retreat to the hospital doors. House turned to Foreman and Wilson; he was clearly peeved by Durbin's speech.

"I'll contact Hunter's ex tomorrow. This guy just went from being annoying to being on my Do Not Piss Me Off Like That list," House noted.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Taub asked. "And why does it sound like he wants to get rid of our department?" This was definitely not the way House wanted to discuss the situation with the team, but now that the cat was out of the bag…

"Get up to Bell. I'll be there in a few minutes to fill you in on our modern day trust-buster." Chase, Thirteen and Taub looked at each other; they were anxious for more information, but they knew their patient took first priority, especially considering who he was. They took an elevator that had just arrived and left the lobby.

"I think you can understand why we need to know what we're dealing with as far as the board goes," Foreman said to House. "If there are only a few listening to him, and he's more just making noise for his own purposes, we can proceed one way. But if too many people start asking too many questions and demand immediate actions… things around here are not going to be pleasant for anyone. I won't be able to protect Diagnostics."

"Hell, I may not be able to protect the Children's Cancer Center here," Wilson said ruefully. House put his head down as he considered their words. This was clearly not something that he felt well-equipped to do, but he knew what resource to tap for help.

"I'll consult my expert in diplomacy," said House as he picked his head up and looked at Lydia. "She's far more skilled at it than I am; maybe she can give me some hints, especially since I'll be dealing primarily with the ex-Mrs. Hunter… she liked you." Lydia shrugged.

"We were both mothers being protective of our children when we met. I didn't have full custody yet of Ben and Elise, and she was trying to find out what was wrong with her child despite her bully of a husband. We could relate to each other."

"Whatever you can find out, House… Wilson and I would appreciate it very much," Foreman concluded. House said nothing, but remained thoughtful in appearance.

"Hey, since Thomas stood Annie up for lunch, we were just going to run out and grab something quick," Wilson said trying to lighten the mood. "Anyone want to join us?"

"Thanks, but I'm going to get back to those reports we were reading," Foreman said.

"Come on… you've been staring at them all morning. You need a break," Wilson pointed out.

"I… I don't want to intrude… "

"They're married and she's already pregnant; I don't think you'll be interrupting the lovebirds," House remarked. "It'll probably be a while before they get a slot open for Bell to have all of the tests." Foreman looked surprised. "You said you wanted to play doctor; might as well grab the opportunity while it's still available." Foreman did his best to hide a smile; every once in a while House managed to act decently toward him. It never lasted long, but he appreciated it when he did.

"OK, I'll tag along with you two. Give me a call when you're down in radiology," he said to House. Foreman headed off to the office he shared with Wilson.

"I know better than to ask you to come out," Wilson said to his friend. "You're going to keep an eye on Thomas. Lydia, any chance you want to grab something to eat?"

"Come on, sweetie. You look like you could use a break," Annie said. She frowned as she looked at her friend. "Are you OK?"

"My stomach's been bothering me on and off for a while now… since before the holidays. It's just never been terrible enough to worry about. Plus, I have a headache and I'm really tired," Lydia explained as she shook her head.

"At least it didn't act up over the weekend," House said, "And as far as being tired… that's my fault. I wore her out." He and Lydia both managed slight smiles despite the way the late morning had gone.

"I'd would have thought that… both of you would be worn out," Wilson said. "From the few pictures you sent us, you two were all over the city."

"We have plenty more to show Friday night," Lydia said. She glanced quickly at House, then continued. "When you come over for dinner, there are some things we wanted to discuss with the two of you. Things we should have gone over a while ago about the children." Wilson and Annie looked at each other and smiled.

"Great minds think alike," Wilson observed. "We were talking about that same subject this weekend. It's time to get certain subjects addressed and arrangements written down." Lydia smiled and nodded.

"Sounds good. You two go enjoy lunch. I'll talk to you later," Lydia said to Annie. Wilson and Annie walked away as House headed to the elevators. Lydia wasn't sure whether to follow him up to Bell's room or not. She was anxious to find out what had happened and help if she could; but she also had her own department's work to attend to. As she came alongside House, he gave her a quick glance.

"You're coming up?" he asked.

"I can if you need… or want me to." House looked down at the floor as they waited for the elevator.

"You're more than capable of offering help, but I'm going to need to focus on the medicine and not the person I'm treating. In order to do that, I'll have to be my usual self; it won't be a pretty sight," said House. "You've seen me mock and berate other patients; you won't like it if I have to do that with Bell." The elevator arrived, and Lydia entered the car with him.

"You've done that with patients who lie to you or are blatantly stupid. I don't think Thomas fits into either of those categories. Truth be told, I have a file that I have to review and get out to Lincoln Health Care this afternoon. I think it's just going to be a matter of nicely telling them that they don't know their ass from their elbow, but it's a hefty amount in dispute and I'd like to try and resolve it as soon as we can." The elevator arrived at the second floor where the ICU was situated. House and Lydia exited onto the floor.

"Yeah, every penny you can snag for this place is one more piece of gauze available for someone to pocket and walk off with," House snarked. Lydia rolled her eyes.

"With any kind of luck this Durbin character will leave them alone and let James and Eric try to figure out how to get the hospital back on its feet," Lydia said. "I'm going to head back to my office. Call me if there's any news." House nodded and watched as Lydia descended the steps to the right. Part of him wished he could just follow her and find a place to hide. This was the third time in recent history that House was dealing with a patient he gave a crap about for a reason other than the medical issues they presented. The first time was when Wilson, Lydia and Annie were mugged, and Wilson was badly wounded when he was shot. The second was Alvie and the life-threatening form of dengue fever he had contracted. Now he was dealing with Reverend Bell… his father. House had acknowledged his parentage, and was even beginning to not mind the elderly man visiting as often as he did. The kids loved interacting with him, and he and his father had more than a few good chess games and discussions with a glass of Macallan's after the little ones went to bed. House knew this was no time for any trace of sentimentality that he might possess to come to the surface; he had to keep a clear head in order to help Thomas. House made his way to room four; Chase, Thirteen and Taub were in the middle of the initial exam.

"Figure it out yet?" he asked as he entered the room and plopped down into a chair. All turned to look at him.

"You're not funny," Thirteen said as she listened to Bell's heart and lungs. "Lie down, please, Thomas." Bell complied by lowering the head of the bed, and she moved the stethoscope to his abdomen. Satisfied with what she heard, she began to press in, feeling for any enlargement in the liver or spleen. "Everything sounds and feels good," she reported. House saw that they had already hooked him up to the bedside monitor and that the numbers were well within normal range.

"Here's his EKG," Chase said handing House the printout of the reading; again everything perfect.

"He's sweating," Taub noted. Thomas nodded, and pointed toward the juice cup the team had moved away in order to examine him. Thirteen handed it back and Thomas took several large drinks; the team had also grabbed some pound cake from the kitchen behind the nurses' station, and Thirteen broke off a hunk for him to eat. Bell took several quick bites and washed them down with more juice. House sat back and took in the scene in front of him.

"So what causes a relatively healthy, though admittedly old guy, to have his pancreas go into overdrive?" The team looked at each other. "Don't hold back just because of who he is, and the fact that I'm the rhino in the room; you need to prove why you got your medical degrees."

"Insulinoma pressing on the beta cells," Taub said.

"Nice try, I already submitted that to the contest down in the ER," House said. "Come on… now's no time to be afraid of the 'Big C.'"

"Cancer?" Bell said with alarm.

"Shhh… they're the ones guessing right now. At this rate, your turn will come soon enough."

"I agree with something Lydia said earlier," Chase said. "It does seem rather odd that right after he goes to one of these pop-up clinics, he has a problem."

"Disdain for them doesn't mean they're truly inadequate," House noted. "Let's focus on test results and not the bug we may have up our butts about these places."

"Radiology will be ready for him in half an hour. We were going to bring him down in a few minutes to get things going a little sooner, hopefully," Thirteen said. Chase had brought the glucose monitor over and did another finger stick.

"What's the magic number this time?" House inquired.

"He's dropped again… sixty three," Chase said shaking his head. "I'd like to bring that number up a bit more and try to keep it there while we do the tests."

"We were lucky to grab the slots we did for all of the tests," Taub pointed out. "Delaying them might create a problem."

"Pack him up a picnic basket," House said. "Let radiology have a hissy fit if they want, but until we get a handle on things, food will be his medicine."

"Greg, if I could have something different to drink… some Coke or Ginger Ale… it might not upset my stomach as much as all of this juice," Bell said. "I'm feeling a bit queasy and I'm sure throwing up would not be good right now."

"Throwing up is never a good idea," Thirteen said.

"Unless we want you to throw up and make you do it ourselves," House said.

"There's a vending machine down at the end of the hall near the other visitors' lounge," said Thirteen. "I'll go get a can." She left the room to retrieve the soda.

"Does anything in particular appeal to you to eat right now, Thomas?" asked Chase. "I've always been of the mind-set that if you eat what appeals to you when you're sick, the more likely it is to stay with you." Bell swallowed another bite of pound cake and shook his head.

"Nothing, I'm afraid. I'm so bloated by all the liquids I've consumed, I feel like a water balloon that's about to burst." House had an idea; he sent out a text to Lydia to see if he was right.

"I'm going to head to the lab to run the blood draw," Taub said holding up a specimen bag. "If anything unusual comes up, I'll text you."

"We'll probably be spending the rest of the day down in radiology," said Chase. "I'll send out a message if we see anything." Taub gave a quick nod and headed out of the room.

"Here we go, Thomas." Thirteen said as she popped a can of Coke open for him. "And here's a straw."

"Thank you, dear; let's hope this does the trick." House's phone began to buzz; he smiled when he saw the text reply from Lydia.

"The other half of the rescue squad will be here in a few minutes," he informed Bell. "The desire to eat will magically return." Bell looked at him skeptically, but he was also sure that his son was right somehow.

"How long will all of these test and things take? Will I have to stay overnight?" House looked almost amused at Bell's question; Chase and Thirteen were concerned to break the news.

"Thomas, it's going to be several days at this point," Chase informed him. "Depending on what the tests show, there's the possibility of surgery and… "

"Days? Surgery? I can't be hanging around here that long! I have to go to the regional convocation at the end of the week… I have a report to give," Bell protested.

"You sure that's all it is? Maybe you have a hot date that you don't want to keep waiting?" House teased. Thomas' face took on a somber, hurt look.

"No. You know I have no interest in that sort of thing. Blythe was the only woman I will ever want or need." House silently berated himself for busting his father's chops. Thomas' devotion to Blythe was not a subject he would ever be frivolous about.

"OK… who put in the order for Frau Krumholz's gingerbread cookies?" Lydia asked as she entered the room. Thomas' demeanor instantly brightened at the mention of the cookies.

"Now, those I will eat!" he said with a broad smile. "What did you do? Run home and make up a batch?"

"No, I did it last night after we got home from the city. I had put some in my lunch today for Greg and me." Lydia handed Thomas a bag which he quickly dove into.

"See the sacrifice I'm making for you?" House asked.

"Believe me, I thank you so very much," replied Thomas with a mouthful of gingerbread cookie.

"So the deal is this," House said. "If you want any more of those cookies or any other baked goods from Fraulein's Goody Shop, stay here for the few days, let us run the tests… " House drew in a breath as he looked away from his father. "And do whatever else is necessary to get you back on your feet." Bell reluctantly nodded his head.

"Radiology is ready for us," Chase announced.

"Time for a tour of the hospital," Lydia said to Bell, trying to sound cheerful. She had picked up on the vibe from House that he was uncomfortable with exactly what this could be. "I just have a little bit more to do on that file I was working on, and I'll come down to see how things are going," she said to House as Thirteen and Chase wheeled Bell into the hallway.

"Do me a favor; stop by Foreman's office and let him know we're heading down." Lydia nodded and took the stairs down from the ICU. Chase and Thirteen had loaded Bell into one of the two elevators on the floor.

"Coming?" Thirteen asked House.

"Too crowded… I'll take the other one," he replied. House watched as the doors closed on the car carrying Bell to the basement of the hospital. He was puzzled; not just by the medical anomalies, but by the fine line he was being forced to walk.

This wasn't just an interesting patient… this was his father. And the further he got into things, the less he liked it.


End file.
